


The Eternal Promise

by NeptuneSatomi



Series: Paradise Lost [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Enemies to Friends, Friendship, Gen, Happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeptuneSatomi/pseuds/NeptuneSatomi
Summary: It was the day that would mark the beginning of a miraculous summer that they would never forget.A miraculous summer that would end in a promise that would last for an eternity in their hearts.





	1. Estival Beginnings

It had been roughly a couple of weeks since Viola had come to stay with her grandparents in the city of Shiganshina at her father's request. Her parents had been going through some rough times, to say the least, and so both of them thought it would be better to have Viola is a more stable environment for a couple of months; at least until they got everything situated at home.

Shiganshina was completely different from her native home of Stohess. While Stohess was filled with many buildings of ornate architectural style and quality, Shiganshina was more quaint and homely in a way. It was the perfect place to retire in if one simply wished to live in a peaceful place for the remainder of their days—undisturbed and completely quiet.

Such was the reason her grandparents had chosen to move there, even having a mansion built in the area so they could live the rest of their lives in comfort and peace. The mansion in question was a bit isolated from the rest of the city, resting atop a hill near the outskirts of town. Due to the elevated state of the building, it wasn't too hard to miss for most of the people who lived below.

Lately, temperatures had been steadily rising, marking the advent of Summer. Schools were out for most children and of course, they would spend their free time indulging in whatever activities their hearts desired. While most children around her age would probably be out and about with their friends playing around making wonderful memories together that would last a lifetime, Viola was different.

Unlike most kids, she didn't attend a public or private teaching institution. She was homeschooled by private tutors. Her father deemed it the best way to go about her education as she would be the sole focus of her teacher's lecturing and as a result would learn better and faster than the other children.

She didn't know what it was like to be a normal child. She knew nothing of the joys of having playmates or what it meant to have fun. Fun to her was simply about learning a variety of skills that could be applied practically to real life; expanding her knowledge about a variety of subjects and becoming more self-sufficient. There wasn't a single day she longed for normalcy, because to Viola her life was normal. It was the only life she had ever known and there was no reason to change.

Even in a new place, she continued to go about her days as she would have back home. She'd keep to herself and do nothing but read books, barely interacting with anyone else unless she had to. The most she did differently was changing the location of where she read her books, but even then she was quite consistent with where she'd go. It would transition between her bedroom, the lounge, the library, or the garden outside if she wanted fresh air.

This didn't go unnoticed by her grandparents of course. They feared that she would become unable to properly function in society due to her lack of involvement with other people. She was young but had never experienced the joys of childhood. At the rate she was going she'd progress through life never having actually lived a single day of it.

To help break Viola out of her comfort zone her grandmother proposed an idea one day:

"Viola, dear, why don't you go outside and play with the other children? You may make a friend or two."

The girl in question had been currently preoccupied with a book regarding human anatomy. Her location of choice today was the flower garden behind the mansion. She was more than comfortable sitting by her lonesome at the garden tea table and basking in the various aromas of the flora that surrounded her. There was no need to leave.

Expressionless eyes of sapphire blue slowly raised their focus from the pages within the book nestled between her hands and onto the middle-aged woman in front of her.

"As you can see currently, I am already outside. There are no children within the vicinity other than myself. I cannot play with people who do not exist, Grandmother. Furthermore, I am more than satisfied with being here and I do not wish to move."

With that said, Viola's eyes lowered their attention back to the book in front of her. Though her reading didn't last any longer than a second as she was interrupted once more by the woman.

"By outside I mean away from the mansion," said the woman as she reached over and yanked the book away from the young girl's grasp.

Viola's eyes had widened in slight surprise at the woman's actions, though they soon enough had narrowed a bit in contempt of having her reading material taken from her.

"Grandmother, I assure you there is no need. Now, if you would please..."

Viola held her hand out.

"....Return my book."

The answer that followed wasn't surprising in the slightest.

"No," her grandmother sternly replied.

"But, Gran-"

"No means no. You're going to get out and meet people. Do you understand me, Viola?"

"..."

"Viola?"

The woman hadn't even so much as yelled at the young girl but her words came out in something akin to a growl and her eyes burned with such an intensity that she had no choice but to submit to the older woman's will.

"...Okay," Viola meekly responded, her head lowered causing her silky jet-black locks to fall over her half-lidded eyes.

Her grandmother's expression had softened completely, closing the book she had taken and using her free hand to gently pat her on the head.

"One day you'll thank me for this. I assure you. Now go up to your room and change into something more appropriate for a playful outing. After that, I'll have Miss Olivia take you to the park so you can meet other children your age. Do your best to get along with them and try to make some friends, okay?"

A soft groan sounded from Viola in reply.

"Okay?" repeated her grandmother, more emphasized than before.

"Yes, Grandmother..." replied the girl quietly as she stood up and began making her way past the woman with an air of discontent hanging over her.

* * *

The car ride into town was quiet and uneventful. Being less than pleased about being forced to leave home, Viola was a bit pouty. She sat buckled in the backseat of the car with her arms folded against her chest as she watched the scenery pass her by from the other side of the window.

Initially, all she saw were trees among trees aligned on both sides of the road, but soon enough buildings of the town came into view along with the various denizens who inhabited the area. She watched them all. Not in wonder, but complete boredom and disinterest. All she could think about was how she was about to be forced out of the car very soon and thrown into a world completely foreign to her.

It wasn't long until they reached the fated park, stopping the car on the side of the road and making parking spot of their own right beside it.

The handmaid, Miss Olivia, turned around to peer into the backseat of the car where the disgruntled child had yet to even unbuckle her seatbelt.

"We're here, Viola."

Viola glanced over at the woman with narrowed eyes before turning her attention back to the window.

"I can see that," she said bluntly.

"It's time for you to go out and play, alright?"

Olivia was doing her best to try and convince her nicely, but Viola simply refused to move or speak.

"Viola..."

"..."

"Come on now..."

"..."

"I'll tell your grandmother."

A sudden click sounded signaling the unbuckling of her seatbelt, followed by the opening of the backseat door of the car. Viola was finally out of the car. With a small chuckle, Miss Olivia stepped out as well, locking the doors and following closely behind her.

As much as Viola didn't want to be there she knew she had to play along for the time being; especially with the looming threat of having the handmaid telling on her. If she didn't at least look like she was trying then her grandmother wouldn't let her read anything when she returned home. She had to pay the price of being uncomfortable for a while to ensure she could at least be content when she returned to the abode.

Viola didn't go far after leaving the automobile. In fact, she had only walked a few feet away from it before just standing around watching everyone else. The park was of a pretty decent size. There was vibrant green grass as far as the eye could see, paved trails going in various directions with benches lining the sides. But she wasn't there for any of that. Her grandmother had a different plan for her.

Soon the girl's eyes found an area filled with children playing around with an assortment of different contraptions. She could only assume it was one of those playgrounds she had sometimes heard about. A place for minors to have fun and goof around with their friends. The concept of having the need for such a location was a bit lost on her, but maybe that was because she came from a completely different lifestyle devoid of such pleasantries.

Unmoving, she continued to watch the other children from the distance until she felt a hand softly placed on her shoulder. Averting her gaze from the playground to the one responsible for the physical contact, she noticed Miss Olivia standing by her side with a gentle smile.

"Just try..." Olivia spoke in a soothing tone, her hand falling to Viola's backside and gently pushing her forward.

Reluctantly taking a few steps ahead, Viola began to slowly make her way towards the playground until she was a few feet away from it before eventually stopping again. It was inevitable that she would be intimidated by the dozen of kids around her age all over the place. Even though they weren't even remotely paying attention to her, the number of small people in one place put her on edge.

Olivia who had been following closely behind the entire time stepped beside her and pointed over to the swing set that was currently unoccupied.

"Why don't you try the swing first, Viola?"

Glancing over at the swingset for a moment, Viola sighed and began to make her way over to it. However, strangely enough, Olivia didn't follow this time, making her a bit apprehensive.

"You're not coming?" asked Viola, stopping mid-stride.

"No, no. If I go with you it may deter the other children from asking you to play."

What was the problem with that? Viola didn't want anything to do with them in the first place.

"But...that's good!"

"Viola..." Olivia deadpanned.

"...Ugh."

There was clearly no room for argument here. Why did she even bother?

Arriving at the swingset, Viola plopped down on the swing furthest to the end on the right side and just sat there instead of actually trying to swing. Her hands wrapped around metallic chains that kept the seat connected to the poll above her while her feet dangled.

With a forlorn gaze, she observed her surroundings. There was nothing fun about any of this. She didn't want to sit around watching other kids run around like imbeciles laughing about foolish things and getting dirty, and she most certainly was not about to join them. Such things were beneath her in the first place.

Because she was so wrapped up in her mental contempt towards her current situation, she didn't even notice someone claiming the swing adjacent to her. That was until she heard them speak.

"Hey there!"

She jolted in surprise for a moment, her head turning immediately to the source of the voice. Beside her was a young boy around her age with short, dark brown hair and round, expressive teal green eyes. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't prepared for this. When did he even sit next to her? How long had he been there? The questions went on and on in her mind whilst she simply gave him a shocked stare.

Her lack of a response seemed to trouble the boy a bit, but that didn't stop him from trying to talk to her.

"Are you...okay?" he asked, clearly a bit concerned.

"Uhm... Y-Yes. I'm fine," Vola finally managed to reply in a hushed tone.

This was beyond awkward for her.

A smile graced the lips of the boy after hearing that.

"That's good! I thought I scared you or something. Hahaha..."

With a small chuckle, the boy scratched the back of his head.

"Well..."

Viola averted her gaze from the boy, her attention now on the ground.

"...Maybe just a little. I didn't see you, so..."

"I'm really sorry about that! It's just..."

The boy trailed off, the hand he had originally been using to scratch his head now wrapped around one of the chains holding his seat up.

"...You seemed really lonely, so I thought I'd come over and ask you to play."

At that statement Viola curiously raised her head back up to look at the strange boy. He wanted to ask her to play? Where people really this easy going that they would just ask complete strangers to play with them? She didn't understand at all. How could he be so free-flowing? Why did he even care?

"You wanted to ask me to...play? You don't even know who I am."

"Huh... that's true..."

Her reply seemed to leave the boy a bit surprised at first, but it wasn't before he was flashing a radiant smile in her direction again.

"But we can get to know each other! I'm Eren! What's your name?"

Viola had no words for this moment. Was this boy named Eren even real? How was talking like this so easy for him? It took her awhile to reply, albeit her response was less enthusiastic in comparison.

"...Viola."

Eren's smile turned into something more akin to a grin, standing up and making his way behind Viola on the swingset.

"Do you want me to push you on the swing, Viola?"

"Huh?"

Push her on the swing? What? She had never actually been on a swing before so she didn't know exactly that entailed. She didn't like the idea of being pushed in any context. However, her lack of understanding left her a bit curious.

"...What exactly do you mean?" inquired the girl, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"You don't know? Hold on! I'll just show you!"

It was then he gently placed his hands on her back.

"Hold on tight, okay?"

Despite being a bit confused, Viola nodded her head and gripped the chains just a bit tighter than she had been already.

"O-Okay..."

After receiving her approval, Eren pushed her forward with a moderate amount of force just enough get her moving. Every time she came back he would push her just a little more than before so she would go further and higher. Viola wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she didn't dislike it either. It was actually kind of entertaining -- how odd.

There was something special about pointlessly rocking back and forth, a breeze blowing past her with each ascension and fall. Not only that, but it almost felt like she was flying. Without realizing it a smile crept up on her lips as she felt a strange tingly sensation welling up inside her.

"Having fun yet, Viola?" asked Eren, continuing to push her.

Fun? Perhaps she was...

"Yeah! I think...I am!"

As much as she hated to admit it of course. She spent so much time rejecting the idea of coming, and yet here she was actually enjoying herself with a person she had literally just met. Viola honestly felt a bit foolish for fighting against it so much. If something as simple as this could bring joy, she wondered what else she had been missing out on for all these years.

"Well that's good, so now try doing it by yourself!"

"Wait, what?"

Before she could fully grasp the situation, he had pretty much abandoned her. Her back was no longer greeted by the sensation of his hands propelling her forward. Instead, she descended back into nothingness. Now she was scared.

"E-Eren?!"

Panicked, Viola began to look from side to side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her brunette associate but to no avail. It was quite difficult to look back where he once was while she was still moving back and forth at a somewhat rapid pace. She had no control over her movement and it almost terrified her.

"Don't worry I'm right here!"

The boy in question had simply moved back to the swing he had originally seated himself prior to their conversation. He had never left her side. In fact, he was right next to her. This filled her with a sense of relief, but at the same time, she still had growing concerns about him no longer pushing her.

The momentum she had gained due to his assistance was rapidly decreasing and she had no idea how to keep going without him.

"Eren! How do I keep going? I'm slowing down!"

She could have sworn she heard him laugh at her distress as he moved back with the seat of the swing and suddenly moved forward with his legs kicked out in front of him before moving back with his legs now bent. He repeated this series of actions again and again until the two of them were practically swinging beside each other at equal height.

"Just do what I'm doing. When you wanna go up you just kick your legs out, and then when you wanna go down just bend back. Say it with me: kick…bend…kick…bend..."

So all she had to do was shift her weight? A simple enough task.

Viola began to follow his chant, mimicking his actions to the best of her abilities.

"Kick...bend...kick...bend..."

She repeated this again and again until eventually, she noticed she was, in fact, doing it by herself. The required movement had quickly become second nature to her and now she was swinging expert! As to be expected of course. She was quite the fast learner.

"You're doing pretty good, Viola!"

"Yeah! Thanks to you! Hehehe!"

So far this little outing was turning out to be quite the blast. The amount of fun made her excited about other things they could do together.

"Wanna do something even more fun?" Eren asked, looking over at her with a wide grin.

It was almost like he had read her mind.

"What could be more fun than this?"

"We can jump off!"

"....Huh!?"

Eyes widened, Viola turned her head to look at him so she could try to examine his face for any indicator that he was just fooling around. But that proved to be a fruitless endeavor as it was hard to tell since he was sporting a toothy grin. He could have been joking, but he could have been serious.

"B-But that's dangerous!"

"Not if you time it just right and stick the landing! I'll show you!"

"Wait! Please, Eren! Don't hurt yourself!"

They hadn't known each other for even thirty-minutes and he was already trying to do borderline suicidal things misconstrued as fun. He could break his legs, or break his neck and die. There was no way she would approve of such an act.

In the midst of her panic, daredevil Eren decided to leap off mid-swing just like he said he would. It all happened so quickly that she didn't even have time to properly react to his fall towards the ground. Enlarged eyes followed his form as he landed on his feet and tumbled forward in the grass at least a meter before catching himself and standing upright.

Turning around to the still-swinging Viola, Eren waved his arms in the air as if to show he was fine before shouting out to her.

"See! I'm okay! Now it's your turn!"

Her turn? No way.

"No! I'm not doing it!"

While she was glad he wasn't hurt that didn't mean she felt comfortable enough following in his footsteps and reenacting his earlier display.

The smiling Eren was now a pouting Eren as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Oh come on! Don't you trust me after everything I've taught you!?"

"After everything you tau--!? Eren, you taught me one thing!"

"Yeah! I know! But still... doesn't that count for something!?"

"Not really!"

"Viola!"

"No!"

"Come on!"

He sure was adamant about getting her to jump, wasn't he? He'd have to do a better job of convincing her because she wasn't about to break her neck for some boy she barely knew.

Eren had fallen quiet for a moment, his gaze falling to the ground. He seemed to be thinking about something. After a fleeting moment of silence he looked back up, eyes alight with confidence as he held his arms out and said:

"Don't worry! I'll catch you, I promise!"

That came as somewhat surprising to her, but she wasn't too certain how much faith she could place in his claim.

"You'll catch me? Are you serious!?"

"I'm serious!"

"You promise!?"

"Yes! I promise! Now jump!"

Viola still had her reservations about jumping, but she wanted to believe he'd actually catch her. Though the probability of it being a successful catch was slim at best. He was barely any taller than she was. At best she would just end up falling on him or something, but that was a better outcome than getting severely injured.

"Okay...! Here I come...!"

Once she had ascended a few feet into the air again, Viola did the unthinkable -- she jumped. Having always taken it safe her whole life she decided for this one moment to take the risk of placing her safety in the hands of someone she barely knew. But it was the uncertainty that made the idea somewhat fun.

What had seemed like an instant when Eren had jumped before, seemed to move almost in slow motion for her. Her heart was racing and she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins; it was singing, searing. Everything around her seemed blurry as if in that one moment nothing truly existed. The only thing she could see clearly was the young boy below her with arms outstretched and seemingly ready to catch her as promised.

Before she realized it the two of them had made contact. His arms coiled around her small figure as he began to tumble backward due to the force of the collision, ultimately falling on his rear but at the very least with Viola in his arms.

A loud groan sounded from the brunette boy now wincing in pain from having fallen with a human weight on him, but his pained expression was ephemeral as he was soon smiling softly with a faint chuckle.

"Hahaha... See. I told you I'd catch you."

Completely disregarding their current state at the moment, Viola was still in the middle of catching her breath from the whole ordeal. He didn't lie. He actually did catch her. Granted he did fall, but that was beside the point.

"Yeah..." she breathed out, a soft smile forming on her lips as well. "You did... you really did... thank you."

Sitting up a bit with his arms still wrapped around her waist, Eren flashed her yet another toothy grin before saying:

"Anytime, anytime. But uh...Viola...?"

The doe-eyed smiling girl tilted her to the side curiously titled her head to the side.

"Yes...?"

"Could you..." His hold around her body loosened completely as his hands fell to his sides. "...Get off of me? You're kind of heavy! Haha..."

At this revelation, Viola quickly realized the position they were in and practically threw herself to the side to remove herself from his lap.

"My apologies!" she said, now sitting next to him with her head hanging down in shame.

She was so wrapped up in the adrenaline rush that she had completely ignored everything else. How unbecoming of her.

Eren waved his hand dismissively, now plopping onto the grassy surface beneath him.

"It's okay."

Lying on his back his teal hues stared vacantly at the cloudless blue skies that hung over them.

There was a time of silence between the pair. Viola had taken this moment to recount everything that had transpired up until this point. Everything that had just happened was a million times more rewarding than anything she had done in a while. Had her grandmother not forced her out of the mansion she would have been idly sitting around reading a book right now.

And that wasn't to say this one moment had completely negated her love for her own personal hobbies, but it was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to her usual routine. Her grandmother was right. She really did appreciate all of this. Experiencing new things wasn't bad at all.

"Hey, Eren..." Viola spoke up, bringing the comfortable silence between them to an end.

"Hm?"

Eren turned his head over to her, eyebrows raised as he looked at the girl in interest.

"Thank you."

"What for? I've just been sitting here."

"No, no. I mean... you know...for everything else. Thank you for the exhilarating experience earlier."

Teal optics narrowed in confusion.

"What does Eck..zill...uh... Eck..zim..ah... what was that big word you just used?"

Did her word choice confuse him?

"Exhilarating?"

"Yeah! What the heck does that mean?"

Did he really not know? Well considering that he didn't even know how to say the word it wasn't too hard to believe.

"It's the feeling of being happy or thrilled."

"So...you had fun?"

"Simply put...yes."

"Ooooh. You should have just said that."

Eren laughed, sitting back up once more.

"You know you seem really smart! I bet you'd get along really well with my friend Armin! He's really smart too!"

"Armin...?"

So Eren had more friends? Well, that was to be expected. He wasn't anything like her. Of course, he had more friends.

"Mhm!" Eren quickly rose to his feet, dusting himself off before offering a hand to his new female companion. "I'll introduce you to him! And Mikasa too!"

Mikasa, too? There was another one?

Viola stared at Eren's hand for a moment before slowly taking it and rising to her feet as well. Though she had every intention of releasing her grasp once she had stood up, his grip tightened as he began to run off. Naturally, Viola was dragged off along with him in the process of this happening.

"Come on! I'll take you to them!"

It didn't seem like she had much of choice in the first place. Eren was already on the move and taking her with him. But she didn't mind if it meant the two of them could spend more time together. Holding onto his hand tightly, she happily followed alongside him as he led the way toward his friends.

Would she actually get along with them? She had no idea, but so far everything seemed to be going well, and she hoped it would stay that way. Meeting new people and making friends wasn't so bad after all.

It was the day that would mark the beginning of a miraculous summer that they would never forget. A miraculous summer that would end in a promise that would last for an eternity in their hearts.


	2. Farewell, But Not Goodbye

"It would seem everything is going perfectly. Miss Lucia would be happy to see this," muttered Olivia as she watched Viola and her newfound friend run along hand-in-hand through the park. 

Despite being completely out of Viola's way, Olivia had yet to take her eyes off of the girl. All throughout her interaction with the young brunette boy, she had been observing the ordeal in hiding to make sure nothing happened. The last thing she wanted was for Viola to be weighed down by knowing someone was watching her every move. It was best for Olivia to simply fade into the background and remain both silent and attentive until it was necessary for her to intervene.

"To think Viola would actually jump..."

Olivia had yet to fully recover from the shocking scene that had transpired not too long ago. Due to being out of earshot, she had no idea what kind of conversation Viola had with the boy, but he must have been very convincing to get her to do something so dangerous. If Viola had gotten hurt on her watch she didn't want to think about how Lucia would react. For now, she was grateful that Viola was okay and seemingly uninjured with her new friend.

Considering how well things were going in such a short amount of time, Olivia decided to report the details of the playful outing to Viola's grandmother. 

Reaching into her dress pocket, Olivia retrieved her cell phone and quickly dialed up Lucia. After a few moments of listening to the repetitious ringing sound, a voice was soon heard on the other end of the line.

"Let me guess, Olivia... She's making it difficult for you?" were the first words spoken by the older woman.

A soft laugh sounded from the handmaid as she began to stroll casually along the sidewalk, following Viola and keeping her well within sight.

"No, no. Quite the opposite, actually. It seems Viola has made a new friend."

"New friend? So quickly?" The tone on the other end sounded surprised, to say the least.

"Yes. It's a young boy. They just finished swinging together, and I believe he's taking her somewhere else to go play. I've been watching the whole time, and they seem to get along quite well together."

"Is that so...? I'm glad to hear that. Keep me updated, Olivia. Send me pictures!"

Really? Pictures?

"You really are a grandmother, huh?" said Olivia, a bit amused by how excited Lucia seemed.

"When you're my age and you have grandchildren of your own you'll understand."

"Maybe... But that won't be a for a while. Anyway..." Noticing Viola and the boy come to stop in front of two other children, Olivia trailed off for a moment before continuing on. "I should get going. It seems Viola may have more playmates, and I don't want to miss out on getting your pictures."

"I'm counting on you!" replied Lucia in a singsong voice before hanging up the phone on her end.

"That woman..." a chuckle escaped her lips as she opened up the camera on her phone and positioned it in their direction. "Operation: Secret Photoshoot is underway."

* * *

 Viola gave a vacant stare to the two individuals in front of her. One was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, whilst the other was a girl with black hair and eyes with an expression that mirrored her own. So these were the friends Eren told her about earlier. The boy seemed friendly, yet a bit timid. The girl's disposition was quite similar to her own, but for some reasons, she didn't feel like they were going to get along much. Perhaps the most unique thing about the other girl was the fact she was wearing a red scarf despite it being summer of all things. 

"Eren," spoke the black-haired girl monotonously as she gave Viola a blank stare. "...Who is this?"

"Where did you even go? We were looking all over for you..." said the blonde-haired boy.

"I went to go play on the swings and that's where I found my new friend Viola! And now she's your new friend too!" replied Eren, upbeat as ever.

This proclamation of his had caught Viola off-guard. With slightly widened eyes, she turned her gaze to him.

"Friend?" said Viola, tilting her head to the side.

"Mhm! My friends are your friends, Viola!"

"But... Is that really how it works...?" 

The whole concept of friendship was rather foreign to her, to begin with, so she had no idea what was wrong or right in a situation like this. Seeing Eren so confidently say such things instilled her with a feeling of security despite all her uncertainty. If he said that's how things worked, she'd take his word for it.

"Of course it is! Now let me introduce you guys!" Smiling ever-still, he first pointed to the blonde-haired boy. "This is Armin! You know, the smart one I told you about. He's my best friend." After that, he pointed to the black-haired girl. "And that's Mikasa! She's my sister...kinda."

It was at that last statement that Viola glanced curiously at the brunette beside her.

"Kinda?" she repeated.

"It's a long story. But she's pretty much adopted!" said Eren, scratching his cheek with a nervous chuckle.

"I see."

Not wanting to pry for details, Viola focused her attention on the task at hand— introductions. She looked between both the Armin and Mikasa and nodded her head once towards them.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. As you already know, my name is Viola. And, uhm..." she fell silent, not sure what exactly to say after that. Her introduction with Eren was much more spontaneous than this. "...Hello, I suppose."

"It's nice to meet you, Viola," Armin replied with a soft, welcoming smile. "I hope Eren didn't cause too much trouble for you. He just kinda does whatever he wants and other people get dragged along with him. But he's a good friend."

The description of Eren given by Armin was a bit funny to Viola, simply because she could actually believe it. She hadn't known Eren for very long, but he certainly seemed to be the type who just did as he pleased without waiting for input from others.

Viola's gaze soon fell back onto Mikasa who had yet to speak. It didn't take her long to notice the girl staring rather intently at something. Those black eyes of her eyes were deathly focused on something in-between both Eren and herself. Upon further inspection, Viola came to the realization that Mikasa's eyes were glued to their hands. Eren had yet to release his hold on her since he had dragged her off earlier, and Viola had simply forgotten about it due to everything happening so quickly.

"Hey, Eren. You can let my hand go..." said Viola, gently tugging her hand towards herself.

"Hm? Oh, totally forgot! Haha, sorry," Eren said as he quickly released her from his grasp.

It was after this that the scarf-wearing girl finally decided to speak to Viola. 

"Hi..." 

That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Her greeting completely lacked the warmth of the one who had spoken before her.  In a word, Viola could classify Mikasa as overall standoffish. It would probably be for the best to keep interaction with her to a minimum.

"Yeah..." Viola quietly muttered, her attention shifting from Mikasa to Armin. "So, Eren said you're smart. Do you like to read?"

Armin's eyes seemed to light up at this question as he quickly nodded his head.

"Yeah! I love to read. I read all sorts of things all the time! Do you like reading, Viola?"

"Yes. I do. It's become a beloved hobby of mine. How many books have you read, Armin?" inquired Viola, curious to know just how much they actually had in common.

"Uh... I don't really keep count of that sort of thing."

Somehow she expected that answer.

"I've read one-hundred-sixty-seven books. I was in the middle of my one-hundred-sixty-eighth, but grandmother forced me to leave home. It was quite troublesome."

"Wha-!? Are you serious?!" Armin's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-What kind of books do you even read?"

"All kinds of things. Mostly non-fiction as there is nothing to be gained from reading fiction novels." 

To Viola, if she couldn't learn something new from whatever she read then it was essentially worthless. The only information she cared about was information regarding things that were practical and could be applied to real life. There was nothing to learn from a fantasy novel or anything similar. Fiction was nothing more than fabrication. Viola cared about facts.

"I thought Viola was just smart...but, she's actually some sort of genius!" Eren stated, eyes glimmering in amazement. "Is that why you talk all weird and use big words?"

"Huh?" Viola's eyes narrowed in confusion. 

Talk weird? Her? From her standpoint, she spoke normally.  Sure her manner of speech was quite different from theirs, but she didn't consider it to be strange.

"You consider my way of speaking to be aberrant in some way? Please elaborate on why."

"See!" Eren exclaimed. "There she goes with those words! Armin, what does that A-word even mean?"

"Uhm... I think it means... odd or...strange... or something like that."

"Oh..." Eren nodded his head to Armin before turning his attention back to Viola. "Why didn't you just say that, then?"

"You asked that before..." replied Viola, thinking back when he asked her what the word exhilarating meant. "If my manner of speech is going to be a problem, then I'll try to use more common words that everyone can understand." 

Emphasis on try. She was going to have to be very careful about her of her word choice around the trio. Armin was at least smart enough to be able to use context clues to his advantage, but she had reason to believe that Eren would just use him as a human dictionary for every word he didn't know.

As for the one named Mikasa... who even knew, really? She was easily the most distant of the three, which honestly disappointed Viola as she would have liked to talk to another girl around her age. Perhaps she would warm up to her with time.

"My word usage aside, may I ask what our next course of action will be?"

"Course of action? Uh..." Eren tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed as he folded his arms across his chest and knitted his brow in deep thought.

"We could go play on the monkey bars?" Armin chimed in.

Eren's eyes instantly lighted up at those words as he quickly nodded his head.

"Yeah! The monkey bars! Just what I was about to say before Armin beat me to it."

Viola seriously doubted that, but she chose not to comment. Instead, she decided to inquire further about the nature of these monkey bars.

"Monkey bars, you say? What a most intriguing name..."

"You've never been on the monkey bars, before?" asked Eren.

Viola shook her head in response.

"Not at all. Though I can assume you'll take me there, yes?"

"Well, yeah! Come on, guys! To the monkey bars!"

And just like that Eren had run off again, this time living the three of them behind without a care in the world.

"Eren!" Mikasa called out, bolting behind him the brunette in pursuit and leaving Armin behind with Viola.

"He's quite rambunctious, isn't he?" Viola said, glancing over at the blonde beside her.

"You have no idea," replied Armin with a soft chuckle. "We better get going before we get left behind."

"Indeed."

With that said the duo made their way off in the direction Eren and Mikasa had dashed away in. 

The rest of the day had proceeded rather well as Viola spent time bonding with her newly made acquaintances. What had initially started as a begrudging visit to the swingset had evolved into something much more than she had initially anticipated.

She had spent seemingly hours with the trio engaging in various activities that she otherwise wouldn't have had she not been forced out of the mansion. Viola had been so absorbed in playing with her associates that the suspicious absence of Olivia hadn't even crossed her mind until much later when she would ultimately be forced to part with her companions.

The sun was beginning to set and the once blue sky was slowly becoming dyed a vibrant orange. The few people still present at the park had begun clearing out, and it just so happened that Eren, Mikasa, and Armin were to be among that number as they were called over by someone she could only assume to be Eren's mother in the distance.

As if to confirm her assumptions Eren had waved to her, confirming his acknowledgment of her presence before turning to Viola with a big smile.

"Well, we have to go. But it was nice meeting you, Viola! I had fun!"

Viola offered a soft smile, nodding her head.

"Yeah... I did, too. It was an immeasurable joy to meet you." She then looked to Armin. "And you." Then she looked to Mikasa and simply fell quiet for a moment as the two of them stared each other down. "And I suppose you as well, for what it's worth."

"Mhm! It was fun playing and talking to you. I hope we can meet again," said Armin, practically beaming.

"...Yeah," was Mikasa's reply.

She and Mikasa hadn't honestly spoken much since they had been introduced, but alas, Viola felt the need to extend pleasantries to all of them as it was only polite to do so. In truth, she only truly enjoyed the company of the other two.

During this exchange of farewells, however, it had occurred to her that Olivia was still nowhere to be found. She hadn't questioned it too much throughout the day since she assumed that that handmaid had been shadowing her. But logic would dictate that she would have at least revealed her self by this point since it was clearly time for them to depart as well.

Had she been abandoned? No, Olivia would never do that. Perhaps she had been kidnapped? But why would anyone do that? Maybe she had fallen asleep somewhere and had yet to awaken from her slumber. No, that was far too irresponsible and highly out of character. Then where was she?

Viola's eyes began to quickly scan her surroundings, desperately looking for the woman in question. Though, it didn't take long for her to find her mark casually chatting it up with Eren's mother. When exactly did she sneak her way over there, and why was she conversing with her in the first place?

"Huh... I wonder who that is." Eren was the first to verbally acknowledge the event taking place a few yards away from them, and Viola was prompt with giving him an answer.

"My handmaid. Well, technically my grandmother's handmaid, but that make's her my handmaid by extension I would say. She's the one who brought me here, though I have no idea why she's speaking with your mother."

It seemed the mention of the word handmaid had sparked some interest because Eren suddenly seemed to want to know even more.

"Handmaid? So she's like your servant?"

Viola narrowed her eyes in distaste.

"That's quite the vulgar way to put it. She's like family, I could never associate such a demeaning label with Miss Olivia."

"...So she's a babysitter?"

To be honest, she didn't like that term either but it was more fitting to her current situation.

"Essentially." Viola was more willing to accept that than having Olivia sound like some sort of slave.

"Well, don't you think we should hurry on over?" Armin suggested.

"A good idea. Let us be off," stated Viola as she began to walk towards the two adult women with the other three following close behind.

Once quartet of children had arrived the two women had turned their full focus on them, grinning as if they were having just the most delightful conversation beforehand.

Olvia, of course, was the first to speak.

"Ah, Viola. I'm glad you're here. Did you have fun with your new friends?"

"Surely you know the answer already. Am I to assume you weren't following me around all day? But, if you wish to know the answer from me directly... yes, I had fun."

"Glad to hear it, because I have good news!"

Good news? Now that was unexpected.

Quirking an eyebrow up, Viola stared the handmaid down in interest.

"...What good news?"

"I think I'll let Carla take over from here." Olivia glanced over in the other woman's direction and smiled. 

Eren's presumed mother, Carla, spoke up next with something unexpected.

"We were thinking of perhaps arranging a future playdate for the four of you. To my understanding you were all getting along so well, so we thought it would be best to exchange contact information. That way you all can see each other again. Isn't that great?"

Of course, Eren would be the first to express his joy over hearing this. Fist pumping as he turned to look at Viola with the biggest grin on his face. 

"Ya hear that, Viola! We get to hang out more!"

Viola glanced over curiously at Olivia for a second, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Olivia, on the other hand, simply gave her a coy smile. Viola had questions, but she would reserve them for later during the car ride home, but for now, she would give her attention to her newly made friend.

"Indeed. I'm happy too. I'm looking forward to you teaching me more things." she replied with a soft smile. "And it looks like Armin will get his wish after all."

Armin blinked, unsure at first of what she meant, but he immediately figured it out and eagerly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! We get to see each other again!"

"Yes. We'll be able to talk more about what we like to read. Perhaps you should bring a book you enjoy with you next time, and I'll do the same so we can share."

"Okay, I will! Until next time, Viola!"

It would seem Eren wasn't the only one elated about seeing her again in the future. Viola shared his sentiments. Armin was quite the joy to be around. Mostly because she had the most in common with him.

That just left...

"Mikasa..." Viola turned her gaze over to the girl who had been just watching in silence.

For a second time, the girls engaged in another awkwardly intense staredown before Mikasa finally decided to speak.

"Later, Viola..."

This caused Viola to smirk faintly. So Mikasa could say more than one measly word per sentence. Progress.

"Until next we meet."

Having addressed her two and a half friends (because Mikasa could hardly be considered a friend as they were now), Viola finally gave her undivided attention to Carla. 

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss. I want to personally thank you for giving us this opportunity. I quite enjoyed my time with them. I can assure you they were quite well-behaved."

No doubt Viola's manner of speech had thrown Carla for a loop. She was probably thinking if she was being spoken to by a child or an adult woman in a small person's body. But her apparent surprise was fleeting as she eventually eased into a warm smile. 

"My, you're so well spoken. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you in the future, Viola."

"Likewise. Though, I must say I am rather tired..." And on that note, a soft yawn sounded from her as she reached out and took Olivia's hand. "Miss Olivia, can we go home now?"

"But of course," Olivia chuckled, nodding over to Carla. "We'll be leaving now. I'll be in contact. It was nice speaking with you, Carla."

"Same to you. Take care, Olivia."

Having exchanged farewells, both parties began to go their separate ways. Although Eren made sure to wave to Viola last time before running off with the others; an action that would not go unreciprocated by the young girl before departing as well.

* * *

Once she and Olivia had made their way back to the car and buckled in, Viola finally decided to speak up about what had been on her mind for a while since the sudden meeting with Eren's mother. 

"It was grandmother's idea wasn't it?"

"Who knows?" replied Olivia in a sing-song tone as she started up the car.

"I know that  _you_  know," Viola retorted as she turned her attention to the window. "...Not like it matters. I just wanted to thank you. And to apologize for being so difficult..."

"None of that is needed. All that matters is what we were able to accomplish." The handmaid smiled to herself. as she began to pull off, making the journey back home. "I'm just proud of you for coming out of your shell."

"Well, Eren made it really easy because he didn't give me much of a choice. He's a good a kid."

Olivia burst out laughing when she heard that causing Viola to look over to the older woman with a deadpan stare.

"What?" inquired the young girl with a deadly serious tone.

"Oh, nothing.~ Nothing at all."

Viola remained silent, staring at her for a while longer before simply rolling her eyes and leaning against her seat with a small sigh.

She was too tired to even care about what Olivia found to be so funny. All she could think about was going home, eating dinner, and resting comfortably in her chambers until tomorrow. Though in the back of her mind she was also secretly looking forward to the next time she'd get to see her associates. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to wait too long.


End file.
